a new myth

Sometimes when I imagine our ancestors, I see their bodies as, in the words of Fanon, “cosmic effluvia.”

They are literal beams of light. Hands reach up toward the sky and honeyed rays shoot from their fingertips. They are rich in land and spirit. Powerful.

The day the colonizers came, when they looked upon our people it was like staring into the sun. They were so bright. So alive. So gifted. It was painful. The presence of such brilliance was intolerable to these men. It scorched their skin and illuminated their wounds festering with hate, violence and greed.

Uncomprehending of such harmonious power, they attributed the radiance of our people to an evil force. They used violence to subdue, tame and snuff our brightness. 

But our people were smart. At night, they gathered feathers and grasses. They weaved masks to cover over the sunbeams that radiated from their fingers, toes and teeth. They prayed over these masks. They supplicated the Gods to protect not just their bodies but the bodies of their children and their children from these depraved men. Their prayers were answered.

When arranged carefully, the magic masks shielded onlookers from their most vibrant parts.
They drew less attention.
They became “useful,” and “entertaining.”

The masks helped them survive. But they were so effective they shielded the wearer herself from her own essence.

Our ancestors took these masks off as soon as they could — allowed the full exhale of their radiance when dangerous eyes turned away.

As the world was remade by the colonizers, the masks became more necessary. Our people wore them more frequently.

They were passed down to their children and their children and eventually to us who were shown to never take them off.

The masks began to grow into the soft flesh of our faces. We began to believe they were who we were. We became hidden unto ourselves.

Our honeyed light as rich as ever, just under the surface, pooled unclaimed. Also unclaimed was our connection to inherent enoughness — a knowing so powerful others created a false world with unnatural rules and hierarchies to keep us from it. 

When we come back to our bodies, this radiance is made apparent. With practice, we can reclaim it. This is the work I'm committed to.